"Stay-cation" day 2

Bed arrangements at the hotel were, complicated.  We had 2 double beds and double sofa bed but none of the kids wanted the sofa bed.  There was much weeping and wailing over it.  So Marc ended up saying he would sleep there, with Andrew in the pack-n-play next to him, while Rachel and I shared a bed and Benjamin and Hannah share the other.  Let's just say Andrew was the only one who got any decent sleep that night.

Hannah kept moving in the bed so she was sleeping sideways with her feet in Benjamin's face.  He kept telling her to move but she was so out of it she didn't know what was going on which meant I had to get up and move her 3 times.  The sofa bed was lumpy and you could feel the springs.  Whenever I was able to lay down in the bed with Rachel she kept scooting closer and closer to me (in her sleep) until she would eventually kick or punch me in the back or belly depending which side I was on.  I lost count how many times I moved her over to her side of the bed. I finally gave up around 6 am and moved to the sofa bed with Marc - which was at least safer for me to get a little more rest.  I told Marc (partly in jest) that I fear for her future husband!

Benjamin woke up around 7 and went to the bathroom. In the process he of course turned on the lights but didn't close the door.  Sigh  This caused Andrew to sit up in his pack-n-play and say "Hey!"   Andrew normally sleeps in until 9 - sometimes 10, so 7 am was quite early for him.  At this point we were all up so we wandered down to the lobby in our pajamas to get some breakfast.  It was, um, interesting to say the least.  We were the only family there with little kids.  We were also the only ones there in our pajamas...everyone else was dressed in their business suits, hair done, make-up on looking all put together.

After breakfast Marc and the kids decided to go swimming again - I opted out this time.  My legs were just too tired to try and tread water again.  I did go and sit pool side to be an extra set of eyes for Marc. They kids were so excited to go swimming again.  The hotel hallway had some interesting carpeting, one section looked like a train track.  Every single time Andrew went down the hall he would only be on the 'track' part and as he walked or ran down the 'track' he would say "Choo choo train!!"

 
   

After bathing everyone again, we packed up and headed out for our next adventure; the Zoo.  Many of the animals were quite active.  It could have been the cooler temperatures or the fact we were there at lunch time or maybe both - either way it was fun.  A little chillier that I would have liked but we all survived, walked a lot and covered every inch of that zoo.  Marc had not been back since they fixed it up and he commented on how it is like an entirely different zoo and actually worth the money you pay to get in.

The kids wanted their picture taken with every single animal statue at the zoo - it was sorta out of control.   Andrew didn't want to get close to the lion sleeping up by the glass but the girls were brave enough.  Andrew loved the rhinos, giraffes, sea lions and wild cats that look like some domesticated cats.  He did not want to leave their exhibit.  He kept going back, smiling and meowing at them. We spent a lot of time watching the sea lions and harbor seals because they were so active and we could view them indoors where it was a little warmer.  We watched the gorillas go crazy teasing and playing with each other.  We also learned an interesting gorilla fact: Gorillas eat their own poo.  How do we know this you ask?  Well we watched it happen.  The gorilla stuck its hand back there, caught it then ate it.  There was a zoo volunteer in there who explained that this behavior is totally normal.  Still, pretty nasty if you ask me.

 
       

After spending a large portion of our time at the zoo we stopped off at Temple Square to visit the Christus Statue.  The sisters ended up doing a presentation on the family for us which was a perfect ending to our family vacation.  It helped to remind us why family is so important and spending time together is so crucial. The family IS central to Heavenly Fathers plan, there is no doubt about it.  I love my growing family and I'm so blessed to be with them for eternity.